Evolutionary Romance- The Complete Trilogy

by Sarah Biglow

  Reese didn’t seem inclined to leave me alone though. He moved into the space and I caught sight of the fact he was in uniform. “You say that, but you look like you could use someone to hear you out.”

  “It’s not something you should worry yourself about,” I answered, bouncing the tiny flame in my palm like a ball.

  “Humor me? So, I can go back to the boss and tell her I did actually talk to you.”

  “Seriously, she’s keeping tabs on me now?” I scoffed.

  “I got the order to track you down and make sure you were okay. Something about an argument in a very public place? She’s just worried about you.”

  “I had a fight with someone. Not her concern or yours.”

  “It is if it messes with what’s going on with the company.”

  I knew Reese wasn’t going to let this drop. I was very grateful in that moment that he did not have the power to read minds. Like Tina, he had telekinetic abilities that reached beyond just metal and magnets. They’d be a good pair if Tina ever ventured out from behind her computer and worked up the courage to talk to him instead of just ogle him from afar.

  “What do you know about Monica Pierce?” I finally said.

  “Uh, I think she’s a nurse contracted by the company. Cute little blonde. Why?”

  “I’m worried she’s messing with Declan.”

  “You mean like drugging him?”

  “No. Getting in his head. Flirting with him. Trying to get him to trust her. Like she wants more from him.” He opened his mouth, but I shook my head to stop the words from coming out of his mouth. “This isn’t me being jealous. Well, at least, not entirely.”

  “We’re science experiments, Henry. Every doctor and nurse are really just scientists with a fancy cover. She’s probably just interested in learning more about his powers.”

  “That’s part of what worries me. The company has scientists that are studying our abilities to see how they manifest and change. They don’t need some random nurse doing the same thing.”

  “You’re being paranoid. I get it though. You like him and she’s honing in on your territory.”

  “He’s going to get hurt with her and he won’t see it until it’s too late,” I muttered.

  “Would you feel better saying this to her face?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Come on. I’ll go be your moral support.”

  I lobbed the tiny fireball at the far wall where it collided with a satisfying crackle. I trailed Reese back to my truck. He’d apparently arrived on foot. I got behind the wheel and was about to turn on the ignition when the engine revved to life without the key.

  “Someone’s been experimenting,” I commented and put the key in anyway.

  “That’s not it at all. You think I walked all the way here, don’t you?”

  “I assumed so, yeah.”

  He shook his head and grinned big, showing all of his teeth. “Flew.”

  “Liar.”

  He made an ‘x’ over his heart. “I swear. Just used my powers to push myself off the ground and propelled myself forward.”

  “Great, so now you’re never going to shut up about being fucking Superman,” I grumbled.

  “Hey, I’ll never be as hot as you,” he quipped.

  I shook my head and drove off, following Reese’s directions out of town to an office complex I hadn’t seen before. I spotted a motorcycle and assumed we were in the right place. I could see tire tracks on the asphalt and my anger and distrust of Monica resurfaced.

  “Save the fiery passion for when we’re inside, buddy,” Reese said.

  I had no idea where I would find her and I wasn’t in the mood to get lost inside the building. So, I waited outside in my truck, Reese beside me was levitating a coin around, until she finally appeared toting a helmet. She wasn’t in scrubs this time, but I still recognized her from our encounter at the hospital. Now or never.

  I shouldered my way out of the truck and approached her before she could reach the motorcycle. I tried not to imagine her and Declan on it together. She looked at me and then the truck where Reese had remained.

  “Can I help you?” she asked.

  “Don’t act like you don’t recognize me. I was there when you were stitching Declan up.”

  “Right. His friend.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Don’t act like you don’t know what I can do either.” I felt heat pooling in my clenched fists.

  “What do you want?”

  “For you to leave Declan alone.”

  “And why is it any of your business who I associate with?”

  ‘Because he’s barely legal and he’s my boyfriend.” The words were out of my mouth before I had really considered them. “And my partner in the field.” It wasn’t really a lie.

  “Well, you ought to take better care of your partner,” she quipped.

  I didn’t need her piling on the guilt I already felt for Declan’s injury. I didn’t feel the heat spread up my arms nor did I register the fact that more than just my hands were on fire until I felt Reese’s power wrap around me like an invisible hand and yank me backward. The scent of burning fabric hit my nose as I collided with the door of my truck. I looked down to see holes singed into my shirt.

  “Take it easy, H,” Reese hissed as he walked past me.

  The fact he was in uniform seemed to catch Monica’s attention. She set the helmet down on the seat of her motorcycle as he approached. “You can see my friend is pretty upset about what’s going on here.”

  “Yes, I can,” she agreed.

  “Maybe it’s a good idea if you just forget about Declan, huh?” He leaned in close to whisper something in her ear that I couldn’t hear. But, whatever he said made the color drain from her face.

  “You’re right,” she said, her voice suddenly hoarse. She quickly donned the helmet and sped out of the parking lot, leaving Reese and I alone.

  I pulled myself to my feet and patted out the last few embers in my shirt. I hadn’t accidentally lit my clothing on fire in a long time. “What’d you say to her?”

  Reese shrugged. “I just made it clear that it was in her best interest to back off.”

  “Please tell me you didn’t make her think I’d set her house on fire or something,” I moaned. He only grinned. “Fuck you!”

  “You should be thanking me. Now, figure out how to fix shit with your boyfriend. So, the rest of us don’t have to babysit you to make sure your temper stays under control.”

  He was right though. I did need to get my feelings in check. It wasn’t good for anyone if I flew off the handle. I climbed behind the wheel and waited for Reese to get in the passenger seat, but he didn’t move. “I’m not going to run her off the road or anything. Get in.”

  “I’ve got my own way back,” he said and focused his attention at the ground.

  I watched the ground ripple beneath his feet before he was hovering level with the roof of my truck. Well, damn, he really could fly.

  Chapter Eleven

  Declan

  I’d never had a date go so very badly. I was at fault for at least part of it. I don’t know why I even brought Monica into it. I knew Henry would be jealous of her. I’d seen how he’d reacted at the hospital when she’d given me her number. I knew my words would hurt him or at least rub him the wrong way. Maybe I wanted that to happen? But, why? I’d been wrestling with that question all night and well into the early hours of the next morning. I considered texting Marisol for her advice, but I needed to be able to handle this on my own. At around six in the morning, my phone buzzed with an incoming text from an unknown number. All it said was ‘We need to talk’.

  I had a hunch as to the sender’s identity. I fished the business card out of my desk drawer and flipped it over. It matched the sender’s number. I didn’t like the feeling that settled over me as I reread her words. Not much of anything good usually followed that phrase. Putting it off would only increase my anxiety. So, I sent a note back: ‘Meet for coffee?’

&nb
sp; I was already dressed when she responded that she’d meet me in twenty minutes. My parents were already at work, so no need to sneak around this time. As soon as the front of the coffee shop came into view, I realized I should have picked a different place. It was the same shop Henry and I had shared a corner table at and I really wasn’t in the mood to run into him. I heard the rumble of the motorcycle before I saw it and its rider pull up. Monica took off her helmet, letting her hair loose. Strands flew against her cheeks as the early morning air mussed it.

  “I guess nurses don’t sleep much,” I said and led her inside.

  “Neither do teenage boys apparently,” she answered.

  I tried to tamp down my nerves as I ordered coffee for the both of us. She tried to shoo my wallet away when I pulled out cash, but she was too slow. The cashier had already taken the bill and given me change. The place was empty except for the two employees working the counter. I gestured to one of the tables tucked into a corner away from the eventual flow of traffic.

  “Thanks again for the lesson yesterday,” I said, hoping to put off the inevitable topic of conversation.

  “Sure.” She sipped her coffee and her hands shook a little. “I know yesterday I made it seem like things could go beyond professional bounds … but we can’t.”

  “I get it. It looks bad if your bosses found out you were hanging out with a former patient,” I said, trying to act like it wasn’t a big letdown.

  “It’s not just that. You’re only nineteen. You’re still trying to figure out what you want to do with your life. Who you want to be? I’ve already sorted that out for myself. We’re in different places in our lives. Maybe if you were older or the timing was different …”

  I knew I should have seen this coming. Her points were valid, but they still stung. The fact she brought up my age twice made me take notice. It hadn’t seemed like an issue yesterday. “Can I ask why now?”

  She gave me a sad smile. “I’ll be honest with you, Declan. I don’t have a lot of people in my life that I’m particularly close to. It was nice to feel noticed.”

  “I get that.”

  “Besides, I should have realized you had someone else in your life.”

  I set my cup of coffee down hard enough that I felt the ceramic crack under the pressure of my hand. “Who told you that?”

  She realized she’d said too much and pushed her coffee aside. “Look, you’re cleared to go back out there. It’s best if we just leave it at that. I have to go.” She left me sitting there in the silence of the coffee shop.

  There was only person who could have convinced her there was someone else vying for my attention. Someone who felt threatened by the attraction between Monica and I. I pulled out my phone and hit speed dial for number three and waited for the person on the other end of the line to pick up.

  “Do you know what time it is?” Tina mumbled, still clearly half asleep.

  “I need you to do that phone tracking thing you did the other day.” I headed out of the coffee shop so the cashiers didn’t hear our conversation.

  “Why are you going all stalker?” She sounded more awake now.

  “Can you do it, yes or no?” I snapped.

  “Yeah. Who?’

  “Henry.”

  “Again? Do I want to know what he did to piss you off?’

  “No.”

  “Okay. Hang on.” I could hear tapping on the other end of the line. “He’s out in the woods. I can send you the GPS coordinates. You should be able to just use your phone to find him.”

  That was fast. “Thanks. Oh, and don’t tell anyone about this.”

  “You lied to us … to me,” she said before I could hang up.

  “I thought the doctor had cleared me,” I tried to cover up my lie.

  “Are you really good to be out there?”

  “Yeah. I gotta go. Thanks for the help, Tina.” I ended the call and pulled up the maps app and followed the little blinking blue cursor to the red pin about half a mile away.

  I wound my way through the brush until I spotted a run-down concrete building just up ahead. The little red pin indicated Henry was nearby. I stowed my phone in my pocket and stalked onward, not caring if I made noise. He’d know I was there soon enough anyway. The windows were mostly gone. From the edges still in the frames it looks like they’d been melted. Henry had definitely been here. A single door was shoved open on rusted hinges and I strode through it.

  Henry had his back to me. I could see fresh burn marks on the walls and the floor. Maybe he hadn’t heard me coming. Just being near him made my chest tighten in anger. I closed the distance between us at a run, tackling him from behind. We both went down and I felt my palms scrape against the concrete floor. He gasped as my weight forced the air out of his lungs. He tried to struggle free, but I wasn’t giving up that easy. I grabbed the back of his shirt and flipped him over, landing a glancing blow to his jaw. He’d realized what was coming quick enough to deflect most of it, still blood trickled from the side of his mouth.

  “What is wrong with you?” he asked in a daze. He put his hand to his face and winced.

  “You just had to scare her off, didn’t you?” I shouted, readying for another blow.

  “Stop,” he said, blood spraying from his lip. He managed to get his hands up and then they shimmered white hot.

  I might heal faster now, but I had no desire to get burned. I slammed my fist into the floor beside his head, leaving a fist-sized crater in the cement and struggled to my feet. He lay there, chest heaving as he tried to get up. He finally managed to stagger to his feet and wiped the blood from his mouth onto his sleeve. He was lucky I hadn’t landed a real punch or he’d have a broken jaw.

  “Yes, I talked to her and I maybe told her you were my boyfriend. But, that was it. I didn’t tell her to break it off with you.”

  “Then why did she?” I howled.

  “Because she’s entitled to make her own decisions,” he wheezed. “And maybe she felt bad about leading you on.”

  “This isn’t about you being jealous?” Some of the anger ebbed out of my voice.

  “Of course it was about me being jealous. I like you, Declan. I was scared whatever this is would go up in smoke. Believe it or not, I don’t have the greatest track record with boyfriends.” He paused to catch his breath. “We had a fight. It happens.”

  “I didn’t mean that stuff I said yesterday,” I muttered.

  “You meant some of it. I understand wanting to be with someone who knows about your powers and doesn’t run away screaming. I really do.”

  “I’m sorry I hit you.”

  He touched his cheek again, wincing less. “Something tells me you were holding back. Otherwise we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

  I nodded and moved closer to take a look at his cheek. Despite the lack of force behind it, his cheek would probably bruise. It would heal, but I wished he had my ability to heal faster. “So, what are you doing all the way out here?”

  “You have a clearing, I have an abandoned building. It’s a safe place for me to hone my powers and just let off steam when I need to. How did you find me anyway?”

  I knew that was coming. “I may have had Tina track your phone.” Again.

  “Why am I not surprised? She’s too tech savvy for her own good.”

  “It comes in handy sometimes,” I answered.

  “So, are we good now?” he asked.

  I wanted to say yes. I wanted things to be okay between us. I needed to show him I meant it. I pulled him to me and kissed him. He pulled away cringing.

  “Too soon Prince Charming,” he said.

  “We’re good,” I replied.

  “You know, you don’t have to prove that you’re still interested in women to me. I believe you,” he laughed.

  “Maybe I was just trying to prove it to myself,” I offered.

  “Are you afraid of being labeled something you aren’t?”

  “Spencer thinks I’m gay.”

  “For
a mind reader he’s pretty wrong.”

  “Yeah, I haven’t had the courage to correct him. Or Tina either. I haven’t even told my parents. I feel like the super powers things is a big enough bomb to drop on them right now.”

  “They handled that well. I’m sure they’ll accept you as you are. You’re their son.”

  “Yeah, well, not everyone is as lucky as you.”

  This time his laughter was more of a forced bark. “You think I had it easy coming out to my parents?”

  “I assumed since you were so open about it in school that they just didn’t care or whatever.” Not that we had reason to cross paths much given he was two grades ahead of the rest of us.

  “Oh, no. My parents could handle me being able to light myself on fire. They knew that was coming. Or at least something like it. But when I told them I was gay, my father didn’t talk to me for a month. I think he thought it was a joke. You know, being flaming gay.”

  “What about your mom?” I probed.

  “She got over the shock faster but I’m an only child and she harped on me for a long time after about wanting grandkids. Like she didn’t understand there are other ways to have kids.”

  “They shouldn’t have done that to you.”

  “Yeah, well, it happened. It’s over and we’ve all moved on. It’s partly why I live on my own now. I see them occasionally and they help me out with money sometimes but it’s really all we can handle for now.”

  “I’m really sorry,” I said again.

  “You shouldn’t rush into it. Not if you aren’t ready.”

  I swallowed, preparing my next words carefully. “I think I should be able to tell my friends. I mean, Tina’s been pining after me for years and she deserves to know why I have never dated her.”

  “Because she’s pushy and kind of stuck up?” he offered.

  “She’s just not my type.”

  “Well, you have my number in case you need to talk afterwards. Or want some moral support.”

  “Thanks. You should put some ice on that,” I said and pointed to his face.

  “I will. Good luck.”